North drums are horn shaped drums that were designed to project their sound outward, so the audience can hear the most direct qualities of the drum. Their inventor, Roger North, created the drums sometime around 1968, played them himself from 1970, obtained a patent, and then began selling them to others in 1972. These original North drums were made of fiberglass, by hand. Sometime around 1976 North agreed to let another company manufacture and market the drums - hopefully in larger numbers. Music Technology Incorporated (MTI) then began to produce the drums using an injection-molded resin process. The drums were made in Italy. They stopped selling the drums in the early 80's but there is an excellent used market for the drums, and a small though loyal contingent of North Drum players.


There is a big difference between the fiberglass shells and the injection-molded, MTI-produced shells. The sound is different, the bearing edges are different, and the overall build quality is different. MTI drums have a ‘Made In Italy’ sticker under one or more of the lugs, and generally have sticker badges. Fiberglass drums have metal plates for badges. In general the MTI drums have cleaner bearing edges and more consistent build quality - they were all molded in the same machines!  The fiberglass drums were all hand made and each drum is different. The thickness fo the shells vary from kit to kit, and the shell thickness even varies from one side of the drum to another. Bearing edges on the fiberglass drums are inconsistent and coarse - however generally this has no impact on the sound. Speaking of the sound - North drums are loud, lots of attack, very little sustain - extremely percussive!

I first learned about North Drums through Bow Wow Wow. I saw them in concert in 1980 or thereabouts, I was in high school and in a couple of bands at the time. I was awestruck by the drums and how they were played by their drummer, Dave Barbarossa. If you haven't hears Barbarossa's driving style you should check out one of Bow Wow Wow’s songs. I was really into that whole Burundi Beat and the incredibly physical way of pounding out rhythms. Shortly thereafter I saw a North kit at the local Guitar Center. The gorgeous yellow Nexus kit was so far out of my reach financially it might as well have been an illusion! So, 20 years later I decided it was time to get that North kit. From eBay to Drum Headquarters to UPS to my house - finally I had a gorgeous North Drum set. 20 years later I also learned that Barbarossa was not even playing North drums, but instead was playing Staccato drums! Granted there are similarities between North and Staccato, but really they look so much different. I guess there was something in the air at that concert, something that maybe blurred my vision...


I’ve since come to learn that North Drums inventor, Roger North, is alive and still playing drums in a band called the Freak Mountain Ramblers.


I play North Drums in a classic rock band called Paragon and they are perfect for that kind of music. PinStripes were applied and they were tuned low - very versatile rock drums like that. Playing North is more physical than playing other drums - my arms are outstretched more and moving a lot farther from left to right to get around the drums. It take more work but the sound is great and the feeling of being so physically involved with the kit adds energy. North Drums are a lot of fun, and above all they ROCK!


So, that is my story, please send me yours, I'd love to know how you have come to be interested in North Drums...